Facelift vs. Facelift

“Doctor, how long will my surgery take ?”

Before surgery, most ask how long the procedure will last? Behind the question lie mixed emotions. Although the anesthesiologist and I are trusted, you relinquish all control over your face, your body, and your life during a procedure under general anesthesia. Your trust in us is total and complete.

So how safe is general anesthesia? Is a short procedure safer? Given the choice between a shorter face lift or “mini” lift and a longer face lift, should you be afraid of a longer surgery? The answer is, NO, you should NOT be afraid of a longer face lift, YOU SHOULD WANT IT. General anesthesia is VERY SAFE, and longer procedures offer the best, safest, and longest lasting result, generating true value for many years afterward. Consider an analogy: If you hire painters for the exterior of your house and the job lasts six hours vs. twelve or twenty four hours, assuming the same number of workers, the results would be significantly different. Looking in all of the corners, the window panes, around the foundation and gutters, the shorter job will have skipped and missed areas. The coat will not be as thick or durable. Quality always takes time and effort, and higher quality takes more time and effort.

Similarly, not all face lifts are created equal. Our ability to correct aging features has advanced dramatically in recent years. Contemporary face lift offers more natural and beautiful results than ever before. Details of anatomy and technique that improve your result demand from your surgeon extra knowledge, more time to execute successfully, and greater attention to detail. Face lift procedure time is longer, but your result is improved and your procedure is safer. Better outcomes require longer procedures. Advances in anesthesia have allowed this progress without increasing risk or compromising your safety.

If your surgeon plans a “quick lift,” a “lunchtime lift,” a “mini-lift,” or other abbreviated version, you will likely see improvement, but how much will this be and how long will it last compared to the longer version? The answer to this question varies, but in general, you are losing value with the “abridged” or “condensed” version. Often marketed as “new and improved,” quick lift is actually the 1960’s model: cut & pull. Minimal surgery means minimal results. Longer lasting, modern face lift incorporates many advances. Today’s face lift is not just an operation, it is a masterful work of art individualized to reverse aging features by re-positioning sagging tissues into their youthful location and by securing them for a long lasting correction. During the operation, localization of important structures like nerves, vessels, and ligaments adds time, but improves safety of your procedure by preventing complications.

Quick surgery shows in the quality and durability of the result. Quick surgery glosses over details. The surgeon who performs “quick” or “mini” surgery is focused on time and likely on business, NOT on YOU and YOUR RESULT. Quick surgery is never as thorough, careful, or comprehensive as state-of-the-art. If you’re only planning one face lift, for your own sake, DON’T make it a quick one!

NEW Plastic Surgery: LESS is MORE

Better understanding of aging anatomy is heralding a NEW era of smaller, safer, easy recovery plastic surgical procedures with long lasting changes that essentially prevent an aged appearance for your entire adult life. Even in your sixties, seventies, and eighties, with annual, bi-annual, or semi-annual maintenance and attention to smaller procedures, men and women can manifest youthful vibrance and allure. You’ll NEVER lie about your age, your appearance will do it for you.

Gravitational settling of facial soft tissue is managed by segmental (minor) lifts rather than a full face and neck lift. Cheek lift, temporal brow-lift, eyelid-lift, ear-lobe lift are all office procedures. Even minor face and neck lift operations can be performed safely and comfortably in the office while you’re awake and relaxed. Some skin sagging is corrected by removal and re-arrangement of descending tissue. Examples of this are jowl removal ,lip-lift, and “anguloplasty” (corner of lip lift) procedures. Skin wrinkling can be treated by laser or by filling with fat or off-the-shelf products. Hollows on the aging face create shadows that send a signal of darkness, depression, and sadness. Others interpret this as hostility and avoid you. The face should reflect light, and be bright. Small implants, fat grafting, minor surgical lifts, and off the shelf fillers re-shape surface contours to reflect light in a youthful way.

Choosing minor procedures doesn’t mean they can be performed well by a “minor” cosmetic surgeon. Certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery means your plastic surgeon has met the highest standard for his or her own performance, which increases the chance that he or she will hold himself or herself to the highest standard for your care and your result.

Endoscopic Forehead Lift Surgery Carlsbad Del Mar Encinitas Ca

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Procedure in 3D – Endoscopic Forehead Lift Surgery

Endoscopic Forehead Lift Surgery – San Diego, CA

The face and its expressions often give initial impressions, sending messages regarding emotion, health, vitality, and age. Over time, the face and its features undergo age-related changes that make people feel as if they look tired, angry, sad, or older than they feel. These changes often first start to occur in the brow, or forehead region, which include the formation of forehead lines, glabellar creases, and drooping of the brow itself. A forehead lift, or brow lift, can help to lift the brow line to a higher position and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles, restoring a firmer, more youthful appearance to the upper portion of the face.

Coronal Forehead Lift Carlsbad Del Mar Encinitas Ca

Girls, if you’re considering breast augmentation, visit us first. Feel Beautiful has one of the few PORTRAIT 3D surgical simulation platforms in the world. See exactly what you’ll look like with different sizes and styles of implant before you have the procedure. The best part? FREE. That’s right, FREE. Only at Feel Beautiful, right here in sunny Encinitas.

Procedure in 3D – Coronal Forehead Lift Surgery

Coronal Forehead Lift Surgery – San Diego, CA

An individual’s identity is often primarily determined by the face—its structure, overall appearance, and expressions. As such, age-related changes that can alter the appearance of the face may make an individual feel as if their identity has changed over time. Changes can occur in the upper, mid, and lower portions of the face; however, changes to the lower third of the face are often the most readily apparent. These changes may include the development of deep lines in the cheeks and around the mouth, loose, excess skin in the cheeks, jaw line, and neck, and banding around the neck. Most often performed on individuals ranging from forty five to fifty five years of age, a lower facelift can help to reduce the appearance of deep facial wrinkles, sagging jowls, and sagging and banding in the neck, restoring a firmer, more youthful appearance.